In cybersecurity, an attack vector is a method of gaining unauthorized access to a private network. These pathways are either unintentional, such as vulnerabilities in third-party software, or intentionally designed by hackers, such as malicious software (malware). Cybercriminals primarily exploit attack vectors to advance extorsion tactics, the most popular being the deployment of ransomware.
During a web shell attack, a cybercriminal injects a malicious file into a target web server's directory and then executes that file from their web browser. After launching a successful web shell attack, cybercriminals could gain access to sensitive resources, recruit the target system into a botnet, or create pathways for malware or ransomware injections. If you haven't implemented defense strategies against this cyber threat, your systems are at a high risk of exploitation.
Vendor tiering is the key to a more resilient and sustainable third-party risk management strategy. But like all cybersecurity controls, it must be supported by the proper framework. To learn how to optimize your Vendor Risk Management program to greater efficiency through best vendor tiering practices, read on.
Security teams are struggling to contend with the expanding third-party attack surface which is fueled by the pernicious cycle of poor vendor risk management.
The Digital Operations Resilience Act (DORA) is the European Union’s attempt to streamline the third-party risk management process across financial institutions. A draft of DORA was published by the European Commission on 24 September 2020. Without this act, there isn't an objective Information and Communication Technology (ICT) risk management standard in Europe.
No organization is impervious to cyberattacks. But what separates resilient businesses from data breach victims is superior risk management. Resilience is achieved through the meticulous calculation of all potential risks and the application of necessary control measures to mitigate them. In this post, we present a 4-step framework for a reliable risk management plan.
SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) is an open standard that enables users to access numerous web applications or web services using the same login credentials through identity federation. SAML relies upon two parties - an identity provider (IDP) and a service provider (SP). The IDP provides authentication information about the user to the SP. The SP uses this information to provide authorization to the user.
Vendor tiering is a method of classifying vendors based on the level of security risk they introduce to an organization. The level of security criticality decreases with each subsequent level. The number of tiering levels depends on personal preference. The basic vendor tiering structure consists of three levels - Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, where Tier 1 represents high-risk vendors. Each vendor could be assigned to a tier manually, or the process could be based on a security questionnaire scoring system.
A botnet is a network of malware-infected devices used to launch coordinated attacks either against a single target, like during a DDoS attack, or multiple targets like during email phishing attacks. All infected machines in a botnet are remotely controlled by a single cyber attacker that could be located anywhere in the world.
